Mining ministry moves to fast-track issuance of licenses to miners

Mining Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai warns against illegal mining activities. [File, Standard] The Ministry of Mining is fast-tracking the issuance of licenses amid concerns by artisanal miners over difficulty in the acquisition of individual licenses. Mining Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai urged miners to acquire licenses and warned those engaging in illegal activities of stern action. "If you are not compliant, that is not the space for you. We are going to be very strict on that," Kimtai said. The PS said some miners had encroached on the gazetted forest land in Nyatike and were mining illegally. He revealed that they have resolved to form a multi-agency team that would be coordinated by Migori County Commissioner Kisilu Mutua to kick out those mining in the forest illegally. "We want to give them licenses. But we want them to comply," he said. The Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners Association of Kenya (ASMAK) Chairman Dan Odida, said are they are yet to get gold mining permit for artisanal miners in the country. "We need permits for artisanal and small-scale miners. We have existed without a single permit since independence, while small businesses have permits, what is wrong with us? We know and hear of these permits as permits," he said. Kenya Chamber of Mines Chairperson Patrick Kanyoro, said the mining sector should be formalised to allow access to credit from financial institutions. "There is a need for opening up the conversation of licensing, we won't be called illegal miners in our own countries," Dr. Kanyoro said. Elly Duro, the chairperson of the Artisanal Mining Committee in Migori county, said there was need for the government to fast-track the issuance of permits and licenses, highlighting the difficulties miners face when seeking the document. "We need all miners to access the online cadasters, like in Migori and Narok for the last four decades we have been blocked because a major player has a permit which can't be used to override the matter," Duro said. Former Governor Okoth Obado, who has a mining company at Masara area in Suna West Sub-County, admitted that acquiring licenses has been a challenge for miners since independence. PS Kimtai informed miners of the agreement to form a joint implementation committee to address their challenges. The PS was speaking in Migori town on Monday, after launching a three-day Nyanza Gold Summit themed "Enabling Responsible Gold Mining: Bridging Innovation, Finance, and Collaboration for Kenya's Artisanal and Large-Scale Miners." He said they had agreed with artisanal miners at the summit that they would be issued with conditional licenses where there was a shortfall. "If we want cooperatives to come together and then apply for one permit within a cadastral region or area, so that they don't go for individual licenses. That is one of the biggest challenges that the artisanal miners were facing," he said. Kimutai said if an area is designated for artisanal miners, then they only need one National Environment Management Authority permit. Nyatike MP Tom Odege urged miners to operate within the law.

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